On Baaba Maal’s third tour to South Africa, it’s all about ritual: the crowd stills as his two drummers start beating out their heartbeat, one pulse at a time. Nadine Botha relives the spectacular night.
Indonesian police on Monday were hunting the suspects who helped suicide bombers attack the resort of Bali, leaving at least 19 dead and raising fears of more violence from Islamic militants. Authorities said Saturday’s carnage bore the hallmarks of a group linked to al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiyah, that has waged a bloody campaign against Western interests since 1999.
The obsession with reality television is not new – it taps into voyeuristic viewing habits that stretch back to 1948, with the first flighting of <i>Candid Camera</i>. Kim Novick explores the evolution of the phenomenon with SA’s content bosses.
Moeletsi Mbeki has a strong background in journalism, with a resume that includes a Nieman Fellowship and time at the BBC. He was a media consultant for the ANC in the ’90s, and is currently the chairman of Endemol South Africa. Kevin Bloom gets the views of the president’s brother on the politics and economics of local media.
Recent events surrounding the Oilgate saga have brought the role of the public protector into stark focus. What exactly is his mandate? Greg Hamburger explains.
Some think it’s of little consequence, but Harry Herber comments on technology that he feels is about to change media and advertising as we know it. What will the introduction of the PVR do to the TV revenue model?
South Africa is sorely missing a real journal of opinion, of the ilk of the US’s <i>The Nation</i>. Sean Jacobs looks at the lessons held in the memoirs of <i>The Nation</i>’s publisher, Victor Navasky.
David Bullard argues that, just like the era of the niche bank, the era of the niche magazine will be a short one. Is there a similar smell to the hype?
How do the media budgets of South Africa’s big four banks rate in comparison to their market share? Kirsty Laschinger looks at the figures and speaks to the banks’ marketing executives about strategy.
Auditor General Shauket Fakie has called for documents that deal with the government’s financial arrangements with Sasol. The fuel-from-coal giant, on which taxpayer support was lavished in the past, has been at the centre of controversy as oil prices have jumped dramatically in recent months and continued to trade at these much higher levels.